Milk choices can be tough

February 20, 1991

With all the milk choices out there, it's tough to know what's best for you.

The form of milk with the most calories is whole-fat chocolate, with 230 calories per cup. Whole milk has 150 to 160, depending on the brand. Low-fat has 140, extra-light and most buttermilks have 120. The low-cal winner is skim milk, with 90 calories.

Whole milk is about 3.5 percent fat. This equals nine grams per cup, five grams saturated, which translates into two teaspoons of fat. The cholesterol count is 33 milligrams per cup for whole milk, 22 for low-fat and only four for nonfat.

Milk is an excellent source of calcium, providing about one-third the USRDA of calcium per cup. Calcium-fortified nonfat milk contains the most calcium, with 500 milligrams per cup. Extra-light has 400, low-fat has about 350 milligrams, and whole milk has 300.

* Labels do not list calcium in milligrams but in percentage of thUSRDA.